Hounding a homeless man into giving up his dogs

[Amy SF]

Hounding a homeless man into giving up his dogs - LA Times

Any thoughts on this? Should we trust homeless people to take good care of their pets? Should they be forced into giving them up?

I think there is an opening here for vets and vet techs to volunteer their time and resources to check on the pets that homeless people keep, to make sure they're healthy and fed and watered and kept well, and to offer free spay and neutering. But beyond that, what can the local governments and private citizens do about the thousands of pets that are kept by the homeless?

 

[ledboots]

It seems mean to take away their pets, only to probably kill them at the shelter.

Edit: I read the article. Let's not pretend that the homeless people are the only ones breeding/not sterilizing their animals in LA. They're a tiny part of the problem-- just more visible, and have no resources to fight.

Edit again: help the people and you help the animals. I bring pbj sandwiches to a group of homeless peeps that live near my old workplace. One of them has a dog, and I sometimes bring the doggie a treat and a bag of dog food (not vegan, but I make exception for pet food.)

 

[Calliegirl]

There's a non-profit in the High Desert ( Mojave Desert Animal Rescue Inc. | Facebook ) and another in the Inland Empire ( Taking It To The Streets with Lori and Shira - Riverside, California - Charity Organisation | Facebook ) which help with the pets of homeless people. They bring them food, pay for medical care and take them to be fixed and get shots.
They said one reason some homeless people end up with a lot of animals is that people who are giving away animals in parking lots and roadsides, will hand the ones left at the end of the day to a homeless person and walk away. The groups try to find homes for the puppies and kittens, but they aren't really equipped for that, or have a place to bring them except the shelter.

 

[Calliegirl]

They (the homeless people) also try to care for strays and animals others have dumped. On Lori & Shira's page, there's a picture of a kitten that was rescued and cared for by some homeless people after a scumbag threw him out of a truck.